1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to spool retainer for yarn spindles and specifically for high speed spindles as used in textile mills on yarn covering machines.
2. Description of the Prior Art and Objectives of the Invention
High speed spindles which rotate at 20-30 thousand rpms have been used in the textile industry on covering machines and other equipment for many years. Such spindles receive a spool containing yarn and operate without a vertical retainer or with a solid retainer which attaches to the top of the spindle blade to secure the spool on the spindle. In using conventional solid spool retainers, the spool is placed on the spindle and the operator grasps the spool of yarn with one hand and urges the spool downwardly against a rotatable resilient member. While the spool is so depressed, with the other hand, the operator positions the spool retainer on the top of the spindle blade and into the spool. Once the conventional retainer is so positioned the operator rotates the retainer until the retainer "seats" itself into grooves or slots provided in the spindle blade. Thus with conventional spindles and spool retainers, the yarn spool is limited to a certain height and yarn capacity since the spool must fit on the spindle blade below the top of the blade so the retainer can properly seat on the spindle within the spool to secure the spool. Also, conventional spool retainers are oftentimes difficult to engage by the operator since one hand must depress and hold the yarn spool against a strong spring while the other hand adjust and seats the retainer. This is difficult and may severly damage the outer layers of yarn.
With this background and disadvantage known of conventional spool retainer designs, the present invention was conceived and one of its objective is to provide a highly durable yarn spool retainer which alleviates the problems associated with conventional spindles.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a yarn spool spindle which will carry a yarn spool having a greater axial length than the spindle blade.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a yarn spool spindle having a retainer which is releasably engagable with the spindle blade under relatively low tension and which includes a spool retainer having an outer sleeve and an inner plunger which are resiliently coupled.
It is still yet another objective of the present invention to provide a method for retaining a spool on a rotatable spindle whereby the operator can easily change yarn spools with minimum effort and time.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed explanation of the invention is set forth below.